


Second Chances

by HolleringHawk65



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Superman - All Media Types
Genre: Happy AU!, Idk how old Jason is, Implied torture and other stuff, Let's just say 18, M/M, They're not together yet, it will be, kind of, mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-13
Updated: 2015-07-15
Packaged: 2018-04-09 02:45:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4330845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HolleringHawk65/pseuds/HolleringHawk65
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clark finds Jason when everyone else thought he was dead. He helps him until Jason is ready to go back to the manor and the two remain friends as Jason adjusts back to his life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. There's a Routine

He woke up on a hard mattress. The sun was  coming in bright from a window, hurting his eyes. He hadn’t been exposed to natural sunlight in _months_.

Was he home? Had Bruce finally rescued him?

He blinked and rubbed his eyes a lot to get them to adjust. He could instantly see that he wasn’t at the manor, and the buildings didn’t look anything like Gotham. It was… Metropolis?

He looked around again, trying to figure out where he might be exactly. Why was he in Metropolis?

It was a bedroom with red furniture. He was surprised that nothing had the Flash’s symbol on it. He looked back out the window and saw the Daily Planet building, which confirmed that this was Metropolis.

Weak from malnourishment, he sat back down on the bed before laying down completely again. Bruce would be totally ashamed of him if he were there.

But he wasn’t, was he? Or he would tell him. He’d let him know that he was there. He’d… He’d hold him and tell him that he would be happy that he was alive and well even though all Jason wanted to do was die again.

He started crying, curling up in the blanket. It was thin and scratchy but he trusted it more than moving the comforter away--he wasn’t even sure that he could in his state. It was the first time in months that he was allowed to do--show--whatever he wanted. It was pathetic and liberating at the same time.

“Jason?”

His head shot up as the door opened, revealing a thankfully familiar face carrying a tray of food.

“Clark.” His voice was raspy from little use and even though Clark was familiar and he trusted him almost as much as he trusted Bruce, he shied away from the man as he set the tray of food down on the bed and sat down. _This is a dream_. “Clark.”

He just… He had to know if this was real. Slowly, he crawled over to the man and the tray of food. When the man didn’t yell at him or hit him, he grabbed a roll of bread and then curled up in his arms.

Clark’s arms wrapped around him, not suffocating, just a firm hold. That’s all that they did until Jason fell asleep.

He should call Bruce. That was the logical decision, considering that he had found Jason drugged and tied up, last night in one of Lex Luthor’s warehouses. He had no idea why Jason was there or even how it happened, but getting the boy, who had looked only a little bit more substantial than a corpse, somewhere safe had turned into his number priority. A hospital might have been a better idea, but Jason Todd was supposed to be dead, and if Bruce found out that Superman had left Jason in a _hospital_ especially one that was in _Metropolis_ and not Gotham…

He shifted the boy out of his arms so that he was completely stretched out on the bed. Then he left the tray of food for him, in case that he woke up and was hungry. He wrote down a quick letter, saying that he was just going to be around Metropolis tonight, and he’d check in with him before he went to work in the morning.

* * *

Jason rolled over, blinking again but not as much as before. He sat up, starting to cry again. It was a dream, this was all a sick dream. Superman wouldn’t save /him/ of all the boys who had brought back from the dead.

“Clark? Clark!” he cried out, because… he wasn’t sure why.

The window opened, bringing cold air with it, but warm arms wrapped around him again. “Jason, I’m here, I’m here.”

He kept sobbing, flashbacks suddenly flooding his senses, grabbing onto “Clark’s” arms.

“It’s alright, it’s alright. You’re home, home.”

He froze. “No, no, not the manor.”

“Clark’s apartment,” he changed it to. “Bruce doesn’t know you’re here.”

He forced himself to take deep breaths. “Clark?”

He felt the man holding him laugh. “Yeah.”

“Is it really you?”

“I swear that it is me, Clark Kent, a.k.a. Kal-el, son of Jor-el. I promise.”

“How?...”

“I found you, and… I brought you here. Did you want me to take you to the Manor?”

“ _No_! I’m broken,” his nails were digging into Clark’s arms. “If Bruce saw me… It’ll just prove that I can’t be as good as Dick. He wouldn’t have let this happen to him.”

Clark sighed. “This wasn’t your fault. Not in the slightest. Let’s just… Do you want a shower? A shower sounds like a good idea. Or do you want a bath?”

“A shower if you’ll stay out here.”

“I won’t move an inch. Can I just get you some fresh clothes out for you?” Jason slowly got up, nodding, and holding onto the nightstand as Clark got up and crossed the room. He pulled out sweat pants, boxers, and a long sleeved t-shirt for him. “Is this alright?”

He nodded again.

The older man set the clothes on the bathroom counter, along with a toothbrush. “Are you okay with using the soap already in there?”

“Yeah.”

“Is there anything else you need?”

“No, I think that having Superman wait on me was good enough.” He tried to manage a smile as they passed each other. Jason’s legs were shaking and he wondered if he actually had enough strength to make it through the shower.

He stared in the mirror as he took his clothes off. There were cigarette burns and whip marks and… he didn’t know what that was from, but it looked like it was infected. Maybe a shower would help.

He ended up sitting on the floor of the tub and letting the water run over him. It took  him a lot longer than it used to, but he was able to soap himself up and rinse off. It was good to feel clean again, even if his body ached. It ached so much.

He dried himself off with a fluffy towel and then slowly got dressed in Clark’s too big clothes. He brushed his teeth and then made his way back to the bedroom, where he saw that Clark had changed out of his Superman outfit and into pajamas of his own.

“How was your shower?” he asked him.

“I think something’s infected.”

“Oh. Uh, can I look?”

Jason shrugged. “If you want.”

Clark stood up and hesitantly reached out for the bottom of Jason’s shirt, pulling it up to see that where a scab used to be. It looked like there was a little of pus in the wound, so he went to the bathroom and got some first aid supplies.

Jason didn’t say anything as he applied a few antiseptics and a large bandage. The boy sat down on the other side of the bed then, looking like it was as far as possible away from Clark.

“Do you want anything else?”

“Do you have… any more of those rolls?”

He smiled. “Yeah, I’ll go grab you one.”

“Thanks.”

* * *

They kept doing a similar routine--making sure Jason was okay (breakfast), going to work, coming home to check on Jason (lunch), going back to work, coming back to make sure Jason was okay (dinner), going on patrol, and checking in on Jason one last time before going to bed--for a week before Jason started /the/ conversation.

“Can I talk to you?”

Clark had just finished making them dinner, having set the simple pasta dish on the table. It was only yesterday that Jason had started eating outside of the bedroom. “Of course.”

He stood there for a few minutes, shaking a little. “They beat me when I didn’t do things fast enough or sufficiently and… I…” He sniffled. “I really need a hug. Just a hug.”

The older man got up and hugged him for the first time since he rescued him. “I’m here for you, Jason. I’m always listening for you, alright?”

He nodded. “I’m sorry that you have to keep this from Bruce. And everyone else. But Bruce especially.”

“Does it make you feel safe?”

Jason hesitated but then nodded. “It’s just that, I know that I’m not ready to see him. I’m still broken, I think, or at least too broken that he wouldn’t want to… to keep me.”

Clark sighed internally as the younger man pulled away, shuffling over to his chair and plopping down. Bruce had been distraught after Jason had died, had kept Clark up with him well into dawn for weeks on end, just to make sure that he didn’t lose it. If he found out that Jason would alive, he’d be ecstatic. He would, without a doubt, even take a break from Batman just to completely take care of Jason.

“And he’s already forgotten about me,” he sniffled. “There’s another Robin already.”

“Bruce didn’t choose Tim. Tim practically forced himself into the role--he looks up a lot to you and Dick. He visits your Titan monument every week.”

“Monument?”

“It was Dick’s idea. Wayne Enterprises funded it, even though it’s not for the public. It’s in the Titans’ headquarters, from what I understand.”

“Oh.”

“Dick tried killing the Joker, you know. He was just as distraught as Bruce, if not more, considering that he had no idea where you were before…”

“Oh.” He tugged at the sleeves of the shirt that he was wearing, avoiding Clark’s gaze. “So they miss me?”

“Yeah.”

He looked at the clock behind him and it looked like there was something he was weighing in his mind. “I’m even more messed up than before.”

“Bruce’s a rich kid with a lot of issues. Also, he loves you--you’re his family.”

“Will you take me to the Manor? Tonight?”

“Of course. Let’s just finish eating dinner and I’ll get changed.”

* * *

Bruce had just come out of the shower. It was only 7:15 and he was thinking about an early dinner before he and Tim went on patrol, though he considered skipping that all together and suiting up extremely early. It was autumn, so it was dark already… Not too much of a big deal.

There was a tap on the glass of the balcony’s doors. He saw Clark’s hulking frame and went over and yanked the door opened. He noted that the hinges should be greased soon.

“Clark?”

“Bruce!”

That was the most un-Clark voice he had heard. There was suddenly a blob wrapping their arms around him, with a mop of hair longer than Tim’s. He looked down at it, noticing the streak of white. In a second, green-blue eyes were looking up at him.

He stood there, stunned for a moment, before his arms wrapped around the boy. “Jason.”

The boy’s legs gave out but Bruce caught him. He looked over his shoulder, to Clark, but all Superman did was smile.

“Jason, I’m always a shout out away,” he said as he turned away to fly. Jason got up as quickly as he could on his shaky legs in order to hug him.

“I owe you, a lot. This could’ve been really different.”

Superman was the one to pull away because he knew that Bruce would see through him too easily. “Bye Jason.”

“Bye… Supes.”

Clark gave a little wave to Bruce, who already had his arm around Jason to support him, and then turned around and left.

Bruce decided in that moment that he didn’t care what had happened between the two, just as long as he had his son back. The _son_ he had thought that he had _lost_.


	2. Here's a Gala

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think that I mentioned this before but this story isn't based off of any particular canon, just to let y'all know! :)

He had a haircut, had gotten to a healthy weight, and all of his wounds were scars. Bruce walked on eggshells around, whether it was because he still felt guilty or because he kept going out with Tim at night.

Alfred made him whatever he wanted whenever he wanted it--but he was never outrageous. If worse came to worse, he made himself spaghetti in the middle of the night, finding himself doing it like Clark had showed him.

Pretty much every superhero knew that he was alive, which wasn’t surprising given that newspapers were making new speculations about him everyday. He still had to go to the courthouse to get his death certificate revoked, but he wasn’t up for going into town just yet.

Even though he disapproved, Dick had brought him a pack of the cigarettes he liked. Nobody--except maybe Clark--knew about the burns he had had. The pack was thrown into the garbage can the night he'd gotten them.

Tim had introduced himself one night after patrol. He was actually a nice kid, apologizing over and over again for taking his name, offering it--clearly hesitantly--back. Jason declined. He didn’t feel like trying to save people when he couldn’t even save himself.

He finished messing around with his tie, ran his fingertips through his hair again. He cleaned up nice, in his mind, or at least well enough that he looked like any other person attending the gala tonight.

 _Except for this white stripe_. He tugged on the offending pieces of hair, consider trying to cut them off again but they’d already proven that that couldn’t happen and that they were stuck at the length. He considered calling Bruce, who was going straight from his legitimate work to the gala, and telling him that he _couldn’t_ go, but he knew that would just prove that he was weak.

He took a deep breath.

He could do this.

* * *

_I can’t do this._

Dick had come over to him, acting like a barrier between him and the rest of the gala, until his _supermodel girlfriend_ Kori had come over and told him that she wanted to dance. Jason wasn’t going to let Dick ruin his night, so he told him that he was fine. Tim was there, somewhere, but Jason didn’t feel comfortable enough to seek him out.

A hand landed on his shoulder and he jumped.

“Sorry, I didn’t-”

Jason turned around. “ _Clark_.” He unashamedly hugged him, earning a chuckle from the older man. “Are you covering this for the _Planet_?”

“There’s a couple of people from Metropolis make donations, so Lois and I were sent to get some sort of story.”

He smiled. “That’s nice.”

He didn’t know if Bruce had told him to or not, but Clark stayed with him, making small talk. They avoided the fact that the _Daily Planet_ was one of the few papers that didn’t have Jason’s face plastered on any page until Jason brought it up (sort of).

“Can I give you an exclusive?” he asked before he popped another hors d'oeuvre into his mouth, avoiding Clark’s surprised look.

“Are you sure?”

“I don’t know. Can we talk about it? I’m just tired of all the crazy conspiracy theories and getting harassed if I want to go for a drive.”

“And you want to give _me_ the exclusive?”

“You’re the only reporter who saved me and let me stay in their apartment for a week while I freaked out over,” he gestured around them with his hands, “everything. I trust you.”

“Alright. Do you want to go back to the manor and talk?”

Jason rolled the idea around in his head. They could go back to Clark’s apartment, but something told him that Bruce had decided to install cameras there. Going to the manor meant possibly running into Alfred, but it was just him and Clark. They could relax in Jason’s room or a study and Alfred would give them space.

“Sure. We should just go tell someone that I’m going home so that they won’t worry.”

They found Tim first. Jason stuttered a lot for a short sentence, but Tim got it. “I’ll tell Bruce. See you around!”

Jason nodded as Tim turned around, his hand going down to Clark’s. “Are you sure it’s alright? I don’t want you to get in trouble with Lois.”

Clark smiled, “It’s fine.”

* * *

They ended up in one of the studies, with Clark sitting on the settee and Jason sitting down on a high back chair, now wearing pajamas and curled into a blanket. He looked like he was getting ready to read a book or to watch a movie, not divulge what had happened to him over the last few years.

“Obviously my death was faked. I was in a coma for several months, or at least weeks. Wherever I was, the Joker had passed me off to someone--clearly we can’t say that it was the Joker, I guess that someone kidnapped me before blowing up the warehouse. It was the al Ghuls for a while, but then they got tired of me I guess, or something, and the next person was… a lot worse. They didn’t care that I was a ward of Bruce’s, they just wanted a pretty…” He was starting to cry so he started trying to take deep breaths. Clark went to kneel in front of him, reaching up to wipe away his tears.

The door to the study opened and Clark bolted back to the settee. Alfred came in with tea--from the smell it was vanilla comoro, Jason’s new favorite--and some cookies. He glanced at Jason, who  tried to give him a smile, and he looked like he wanted to say something, but refrained.

“Thank you, Alfred,” Clark said, smiling.

“You’re welcome, Master Clark,” he said before leaving.

Jason reached out for a cup of tea, but his hands were trembling too badly. He cradled them, trying to get them to stop, but they wouldn’t, couldn’t.

Clark moved to him again, taking his hands into his, rubbing his thumbs over them.

“H-he called me his pretty _bird_ ,” he managed after a few more minutes. “I was his caged bird. I couldn't ever _escape_ him…Even now, I just...”

There was no way that Clark was putting any of this in the papers. He’d come up with another story and say that it was an exclusive from Jason, but he would never let anyone know this. They would use it against Jason--Jason, who was sobbing in his arms, having slid from the chair and into them. Jason, who only had one word coming out now: “Broken, broken, _broken_.”

He rocked him back and forth  in his arms, letting him cry. When he was done, Clark stroked his hair. It took a while, but eventually he calmed down enough for Clark to bring the tray down to their level. He poured a cup of tea for both of them. Jason held his cup almost gingerly , blowing gently on the still warm liquid.

“Can you stay the night?” Jason looked up at him, eyes puffy, red, and dilated. “You don’t have to.”

Clark’s fingers were still carding through Jason’s hair. “Metropolis will be fine for a night.”

The younger man smiled. “Thanks.”

* * *

They managed to polish off the cookies, with Jason having most of them. They didn’t talk about the article, which was fine by Clark--he figured he’d run something by Bruce before talking about it again with Jason.

Upon finding out that Clark was spending the night, Alfred procured some of Bruce’s pajamas. They were a little bit tight but it could’ve been worse and he was grateful that he wouldn’t have to sleep in his suit.

Jason had slept in Clark’s bed when he stayed at the apartment while Clark (usually) slept on the couch. Here, Jason simply guided the older man to the bed and then got on the other side. “I feel safe with you,” he admitted as he curled up against him. “I mean, I feel safe in the Manor over all, but you… you make me feel even better.”

He seemed content after explaining that, closing his eyes and relaxing against Clark’s chest. It made him feel like, out of everything, he was doing something right by being there for Jason.

* * *

“Good morning,” Clark greeted to Bruce as he and Jason entered the dining room.

The billionaire raised an eyebrow. “Are those my pajamas?”

“Alfred got them for him,” Jason explained as he took a seat a few places away from Bruce. It actually surprised Clark that he was so far away from him. When no one else came down, Clark set himself in between the two.

“How was the rest of the gala? Any super villains crash it?”

“No, though Oliver decided that it was a prime night for making a fool out of himself.”

“Do you think I should talk to him?” Jason blurted out. “I mean, because he was on that island for what, five years?”

“I could arrange something,” Clark responded. Bruce looked stunned by the question still. “He’s a pretty nice guy away from the rest of high society.”

“Thanks Clark.”

They ate in relative silence until Dick came in. “Morning everyone! How was it last night? I noticed that there are less of Alfred’s cookies.”

“It was good,” Jason managed as he got up. “Uh, talking, you know. I, uh, need to take a shower. Bye.”

“Okay then.” The first Robin sat down and rubbed his forehead. “He never wants to talk to us anymore.”

Clark’s mind went back to what Jason had said--that the last man to have him had called him his pretty bird and that he felt broken. For a second, he thought about telling this to Dick and Bruce, who were looking at him as if they thought he could shine some insight on Jason’s state of mind, but then he realized that was pretty much violating Jason’s trust, and it seemed like that would just be one more thing of his that was violated.

“He’ll tell you when he’s ready?” he offered, not sure what else to say. He remembered that the first two days with him, Jason hardly spoke, and it didn’t improve that much before he left.

Bruce didn’t say anything, just looked down at his French toast, moving it around occasionally. “He needs help, doesn’t he?”

“You’re not taking him to a psych board,” Clark hissed.

“Are you his father?” he shot back.

“No, but I am the one he’s confiding in. He trusts me, and I don’t want to see anything bad come to him. He deserves better than that.”

“Don’t you think I know that? Don’t you think that I wished I had accepted his death, that I should’ve known, that I should’ve kept _looking_ for him?”

Dick cleared his throat. “We all thought Jason was gone, okay? We thought that there was no way to survive the blast, and finding his cape seemed to prove that. We might not have been able to help him in whatever hell hole he was in, but we can help him now by giving him space and time, and being there when he needs us. Alright, Bruce? No forcing treatment on him, he’s not the fucking Joker.”

Bruce’s eyes flashed. “Why would you ever think that I would compare them?”

Dick sighed before he grabbed his fork. “I don’t know. Just… forget that I said that.”

They continued on in silence before Clark decided to bring up his idea to Bruce.

“The newspapers’ stories about Jason are really bothering him,” he started, facing the older man. “He actually started last night with the intention of telling me so that I would post it in the _Planet_ , but I wouldn’t do that. There’s too many people who would use the information against him. So, I was hoping to write something and just… say that it was from Jason. To get the papers’ off his back, of course. I wanted your go ahead, I suppose, and I’ll run the story by you before I take it to Perry.”

Bruce actually… smiled at him. “Thank you, Clark. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate everything that you're doing for Jason." 

Clark relaxed. “Of course. I’d like to do anything I can for him… He deserves at least that.”

* * *

Jason smiled as he stepped away from the door. It was nice to know that he had people in his court, so to speak. It was nice to know that Dick wanted to try, and that Bruce felt bad, and that Clark was… well, Clark. He got this warm, bubbly feeling in his stomach, and it felt like something was finally looking up.

He passed Alfred, who looked like he knew what was going through Jason’s head, but all he said was good morning.


	3. How About a Farm? (Pt. 1)

“You want to what?”

Okay, so maybe it hadn’t been Clark’s best idea to ask Bruce about taking Jason to Smallville while they were on the League’s base.

“Take Jason to my parents’ farm.”

“In Kansas?”

“Yeah, I have some time off and I had planned to go see them. I thought that it might be good for him to get away from Gotham.” He said that even though they both knew that Jason had barely left the Manor. Despite the _Daily Planet_ printing the ‘exclusive,’ press still tried to bother him about one thing or another. “It’ll give him a chance to be around different kinds of people.”

Bruce finished drying off. “You’re not going to let this idea go even if I do say no, are you?”

He felt his cheeks heat up. “I’d respect your decision… I’d just bring the idea to Alfred next.”

“Have you asked Jason?”

“I mentioned a few days ago that I was going.”

“And?”

“He mentioned that he would feel bad if he called me away from my parents. So I thought that I would just eliminate a step and take him with me.”

“Then this is more for you than it is for him.”

“No! I honestly want to take him with me. He and I are friends now and I think that it would be really good for him.”

“If he wants to go, he can go,” Bruce grumbled.

“Great!”

* * *

“Hey, Jason.”

He looked up to see that Dick was standing in the doorway. “Hi, uh, come in.”

“Do you mind if I sit next to you?”

“Go ahead.”

“So how are you today?”

“I’m… really good, I think. Clark and I are going to dinner later, if nothing comes up in Metropolis.”

“Really? That’s cool. Do you wanna do a double date with me and Kori?”

“It’s not a date!” His cheeks turned a bright shade of pink. “At least… I don’t think so.”

Dick chuckled. “Alright, another time then. So… you feel alright around Clark?”

“I feel great around Clark… he’s just comforting to be around.” He tugged on his hair, noticed that it was getting a little long again. “Not that I don’t feel comfortable around you and Bruce, it’s just that… something changed between us. I’m not blaming either of you, it’s just that…” He shrugged. “I don’t feel like we’re a family anymore some days. All of this,” he gestured around the room, “it feels surreal, like it did when Bruce first took me in. Like I’m gonna wake up and… but when I’m around Clark, that feeling’s gone. He’s the most real thing I know.”

Dick tried to smile at him and took one of Jason’s hands into his. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“It’s not your fault either, Jaybird.”

He jumped at the name, yanking his hand away. “Jason. My name’s Jason.”

The older man swallowed, hating to see Jason like this. He almost wished for the old Jason, the Jason from before all of /this/, but that wasn’t fair to him at all. He just wanted to help him, help his little brother get better in any way that he could.

“Alright. Do you wanna do something before you go out with Clark? We can watch a movie or play checkers or whatever you want to do.”

He saw what he was trying to do. He wanted to do stuff with him too, wanted them to be a family again, so he managed a smile. “Sure.”

* * *

“Good evening Master Clark, would you like me to get Master Jason?” Alfred asked as he let him into the Manor. Clark set the picnic basket he had brought on the floor--he had already okay’d the idea with Alfred.

“Is he in his room? I’ll go get him, save you a climb of the stairs.”

The butler nodded as he gave him a smile. “Master Richard is in with him.”

“Thank you Alfred,” he said before he went up the stairs. He was about to knock on the door when he heard the two laughing inside. He could get Jason to laugh every once in a while, usually a light chuckle with a smile, but this, this was a _real_ laugh. He regretfully knocked on the door when the laughing ended.

When it swung open, it was Jason who opened it. He was smiling, a smile that reached all the way up into his eyes. “Hey Clark.”

“I should leave you two then,” Dick said, giving Clark a little wave as he squeezed past them.

Jason looked him up and down, still smiling. “You look really nice… Where are we going?”

“The backyard, actually. I thought we could have a picnic.”

His eyes seemed to sparkle. “That sounds really… wow. Uh, I’m just going to change out of my pajamas. I’ll meet you out there in a minute.”

* * *

They had finished dinner and they were simply talking, Jason’s head in Clark’s lap. This was, without a doubt, one of his favorite positions in the world; close to Clark, with the older man running his hands through his hair.

“Do you want to come to Smallville with me?” he asked him suddenly. “To visit my parents.”

“You want me to meet your parents?”

“I thought that it would be nice for you to get completely out of Gotham for a while.”

Jason smiled. “It would be nice. I’d love to, actually--but do you think that Bruce…”

“Bruce already said you could go if you wanted to.”

He hugged him. “This is going to be amazing.”

* * *

He was terrified. With his backpack slung across his back, he felt like a child going into school on the first day. He was only going to Clark’s parents’ house.

And his feelings for Clark.

He hadn’t really considered what they were until Dick asked him about them. They had just watched _Frozen_ when he had turned to him and asked if he actually had feelings for Clark.

He had stuttered, embarrassed, but… he had admitted to them. He had no idea when they had come up, but they were there. There was probably no way that Clark-- _perfect, whole, Clark_ \--would ever reciprocate them, but maybe…

Clark squeezed his hand. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah.”

They walked right into the little farmhouse where Clark called out to his parents. Jason took a deep breath of what smelled like freshly baking pie--apple, but he wasn’t too sure--and tried to relax.

“Ma, this is Jason Todd. Jason, this is my mom, Martha Kent.”

She was a nice looking woman, older than Alfred maybe, and if he hadn’t known that Clark was an alien, he’d be able to see some family resemblance. It put him at ease to see that she seemed as sweet as Clark had assured him.

“Would you like some pie, sweetheart? Pa is just out at the store but he’ll be back soon.”

To be honest, even though he had barely moved an inch, the flight (in Clark’s arms, might he add) had made him tired. A nap sounded good right about now, but he didn’t want to disappoint Clark.

“Yeah, that sounds great.”

Clark took his bag for him before Jason went into the kitchen following Ma.

“Would you like a glass of milk?”

“Yes, please.”

Oh this was a bad, bad, bad idea. He was only a few minutes away from hyperventilating-- _where's Clark_?

“Sweetheart, you can relax,” Ma said as she set a piece of pie, the filling come out of the sides, in front of him. “Clark hasn’t told me much, but I know that what you’re going through must  be very hard. If it helps, no one here is going to hurt you.”

Clark was suddenly down, arm around the back of his chair. “Ma, no one was going to hurt him at the Manor. I just thought that this would be a good change of scene for him, because he stays inside all of the time.”

“I swim!” Clark gave him a /look/. “Every other day. At least I get _some_ exercise.”

* * *

“So are you two dating?” It was Kara who asked the question. She was a few years younger than Jason, probably closer in age to Tim than to him.

They were all eating dinner together and the question almost caused him to choke on the green bean in his mouth. He looked over at Clark, not sure what to say. Were they dating?...

“We’re just really good friends,” Clark supplied.

Of course, only Martha and Jonathan noticed the looks that the two gave each other.

* * *

“Clark, about Jason,” Martha started as the two were doing the dishes in the kitchen.

He felt himself tense. “What?”

“What are your feelings about him? And, it’s fine if you love him, you know that we accept you completely.”

He stared at her for a moment before sighing. “I don’t want to rush him into anything.”

“But you would like to be in a relationship?”

“Yeah.” He smiled, “I don’t think that there’s anything that I’d want more than to be able to make Jason happy all of the time.”

* * *

“Do you mind if I sleep with you tonight?” Jason was standing in the doorway, an old flannel robe of Clark’s hanging loosely on him.

Clark pulled him into his arms, earning a smile. “You don’t have to ask that, you know.”

Jason put his arms around his neck as he was cradled. “I just didn’t know if I could, since, I don’t know a lot about your parents…”

“Wha-- they’re not homophobic.”

“Good.” He rested his head against Clark’s chest, nuzzling it a little bit as Clark’s fingers started to card through his hair. He tilted his head up before speaking: “Clark, can I… kiss you?”

The older man nodded, afraid that speaking would scare him off. He could hear Jason’s heart speed up as they leaned into each other. It was one of the most innocent kisses that Clark had ever taken part of, but it might have been his favorite.

He let Jason control it, not wanting to freak him out. It deepened when Jason pushed him down and straddled him, but then he pulled away.

“Sorry,” he was blushing, cheeks a bright pink against his pale skin.

Clark smiled at him as he put his hands on Jason’s hips. “It’s fine, really. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just tired.” He yawned as if to prove a point before lying down, head on Clark’s chest. “Why are you softer than your mattresses?” It came out as mumbled.

“What?”

“Your chest.” He lifted his head a little bit. “It’s softer than both of your mattresses. How do you even sleep on these? I’d think that you’d need a cloud to sleep on.”

“You Bats and your lap of luxury,” Clark said lightly as he combed his fingers through Jason’s hair. “Sorry.”

“No, it’s fine, just,” he shifted a little bit, “I mean my back’s used to it. It’s fine.”

* * *

When Jason woke up, he was wrapped up in one of the softest blankets ever. Clark had just come out of the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist still. He came over and pressed a kiss on his forehead, telling him that it was alright if he went back to sleep.

Jason managed a smile as he closed his eyes. “Goof ball,” he muttered as he rested his head back on the pillow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So they finally kissed at least :)  
> I'm bad at fluff.


	4. How About a Farm? Pt. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, just wanted to let you know that there's mentions of:   
> -unplanned parenthood   
> as well as:  
> -some questioning of reality (if that makes sense).   
> Please, let me know if there's anything else you think I should put in the notes! Enjoy :)

“You have freckles,” Clark noted. Jason’s heart rate increased at the closeness of his newly found boyfriend but Clark wasn’t sure if that should make him smile or worry.

“Oh, uh, yeah.” He smiled sheepishly. “I only really get them when I’ve been out in the sun a lot. Which you know,” he gestured around them (they were outside the barn), “I have been. Thanks to you.”

“You’re enjoying it, right? I can take you-”

“No, know, of course I am.” Jason reached up on his toes to give him a kiss on the jaw. “It’s nice to be away from everything. I know that it seems like I keep myself locked up in the Manor, which I do, but it’s because…” He shrugged. “I wish that we could stay here forever.”

Clark ran his fingers through the other’s hair. “You can stay here, if you want. My parents really like having you around.”

“No, that would be… weird. I just like being here with you.”

“I like being here with you, too.” They smiled at each other before Jason leaned in for a hug. They stayed in the familiar position, Clark’s hands rubbing his back, for a few minutes. “Jason, can I tell you something?”

“Hm? Of course.”

“I love you,” he whispered, mouth against Jason’s ear. He shivered a little bit, heart beat increasing just the tiniest bit.

“I love you, too.”

* * *

Dick knocked on the door of Bruce’s study. He took a deep breath when the older man told him to come in.

“Hi, Bruce. How are you?”

He arched an eyebrow. “I’m fine, how are you?”

“Good, good.” He took a seat without Bruce asking him if he wanted to. “Have you heard from Jason?”

“Just that he was enjoying himself. Why? Did you hear something?”

“No, no. Well.” He could be betraying Jason’s trust by telling Bruce. “He told me he likes Martha’s apple pie more than Alfred’s.” It came out as a rush, something that he had told him, but it wasn’t the _other_ thing that his adopted brother had told him. He sighed.

The CEO scratched the back of his neck, sensing that something was off and being withheld from him, but if it was really bad he had enough faith in Clark that he would tell him. “He is better known for the more intricate desserts.”

Dick laughed. “Yeah. Yep. I should be going I guess--see you later!”

Bruce rubbed the bridge of his nose as he thought about how _bad_ Dick was at keeping secrets. He reached for the phone on his desk but then he refrained. Jason was _enjoying_ himself out on the Kents’ farm--there was no reason to spoil his fun because of Dick. He would find it out at one point or another, eventually.

He could be patient when he wanted to be.

* * *

Clark woke up when he heard Jason gasp and cry out in his sleep. He clawed at Clark’s arms, trying to force him away as he said something unintelligible.

He couldn’t think of anything else to do, so he wrapped his arms around him. He hoped that the familiar position, one that Jason had even told him was comforting, would snap him out of the night terror.

“I got you, I got you,” he whispered into the mess of black and white hair. “Jay, you’re safe here.”

In another minute, Kara burst through the door, but all Clark did was give her a look, and she retreated, Ma and Pa following her.

It took a while, but Jason eventually stilled. His heart returned to a normal pace and the hold he had on Clark’s shirt loosened. The older man sighed, stroking his hair and his back. He could feel the lines of scar tissue and instinctively held him tighter.

All he wanted to do was protect him, but he had no idea how to go about it, not when he didn’t know who had taken him, or how to combat dreams.

He had thought about asking Bruce what he thought about Zatanna taking away Jason’s memories from the past few years, but he wasn’t sure how the younger man would feel about being amnesiac in a world that had, reluctantly, moved on without him.

“Clark?” Jason’s voice was hoarse from the crying. “I… it was a really bad dream.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

He squeezed the older man’s shirt. “No, I just want you to hold me.”

He smiled and kissed his forehead. “Anything you want.”

* * *

Jason was still obviously rattled from the dream. Whatever had happened in it had him not eating and all he wanted to do was lounge around in bed on his blanket. He apologized to Ma, who he was supposed to go shopping with, but he seemed too jumpy to do so.

“I feel horrible for him,” she had told Clark before she left. “Do you know his favorite dish?”

The Kryptonian could hear Jason call Dick and he wasn’t sure if the pang in his chest was jealousy or if he felt bad for his boyfriend. "Breaded anything."

He shouldn’t violate his privacy but he couldn’t not hear it--the panic in Jason’s voice as Dick tried to sooth him, asking him if he wanted to come pick him up.

“ _I can’t disappoint Clark_ ,” he had said. “This was going so well.”

“Jay...son,” he had added, sounding distant in more than one way, “Clark’ll understand. He cares about you and your comfort, alright? You sure that you don’t want me to at least come? I can be there by tonight.”

“No. You and Kory have the date tonight.”

“Jason, you’re more important than a date. She’d understand. But if you really don’t want me to, okay. Let me know if anything changes, okay lil-little brother. Love you.”

“Love you too, Dick.”

* * *

Tim was perched on a roof, just looking out over Gotham, talking to Dick through their comms on a private channel. “So he didn’t want you to go, right? It’ll be fine.”

“Timmy-Tim-Tim, Jason…” He drifted off, utterly silent for a moment.

“Yeah?”

“I don’t fucking know anymore,” he muttered. “I had just figured Jason out, we were friends and then he _died_. Now, he’s talking to me and dating Clark and then something happened last night, Tim, and I just want to be his big brother who protects him. Right now, I don’t feel like I’m protecting him.”

“You can’t protect him from himself,” Tim pointed out. “It’s his subconscious. Maybe drugs would help, but I think that you all have agreed that you’re not going to sedate him 24/7--and it might make him worse anyway.”

“I could take down the person who did this to him.”

They were silent as Tim heard Dick tugging on his pants. It was his nine month anniversary with Kory tonight, which probably doesn’t sound too huge, but the younger boy knew that it meant a lot to Dick, whose life was constantly changing.

“The Joker? He’s in Arkham right now.”

“No, not the Joker. Bruce already stopped me once. I was thinking about the one who really messed up Jason. The one that made him feel like he’s broken, the one that _took_ him away from me…” Tim could hear that Dick was starting to cry. “He won’t even let me call him Jaybird anymore. What’s Big bird without his Jay?”

“If…” Tim hesitated. “If he had left willingly you wouldn’t care.”

“He _didn’t_ , Tim, that doesn’t _matter_! Now, are you going to help me or not?”

“And how am I supposed to help you?”

“I don’t know. Keep your ear to the ground, I guess.”

He sighed. “Alright Dick… Just go have fun with Kory tonight, alright?”

The first Robin laughed. “Yeah, I’ll try. G’night, Tim.”

* * *

“Clark?”

“Yes?”

“I was wondering if you’d want to leave the farm early and maybe go to your apartment for a few days. I mean, I know that you’re here to be with your family and this isn’t about me, but… I don’t know.”

His hands were resting on Jason’s hips as he nuzzled his boyfriend’s neck. “How about tonight? Does that work for you?”

“Yeah, of course it does.”

* * *

“How much was that blanket?” Jason asked, his hands on his hips. “You didn’t tell me that you went out in the middle of the night and _bought_ it for me!”

“Because I didn’t expect you to reimburse me. I just wanted to make you happy and comfortable.”

Jason sighed before Clark pulled him close.

“Also Superman got it for free.”

“Of course he did.”

Clark smiled, trying to brush it off. “Do you want to go get something to eat?” _You look like you’re losing weight._

“Sure. I know that it must be annoying to come straight from your parents’ nice open farm to your city apartment.”

“I keep telling you, it’s fine.” He ran his hands through the other’s hair. “I can go there anytime that I want to.”

* * *

They ended up going to a coffee shop that Clark frequented. Jason instantly seemed in his element--expensive coffee (“I’m paying this time,” he had already said), fancy pastries, dim lighting, and not that much of a crowd.

They were sitting down in a corner booth, the two sitting down across from each other. Jason was nursing his mug, looking at the bagel sandwich and lemon almond croissant he’d ordered, but not touching them. A basic instinct in Clark almost wanted to cram it down his throat, but he knew that that wouldn’t help anyone.

“Daddy?”

Jason’s head jerked at the sound. Clark had heard a little girl and her guardian (he had assumed) come in, and hadn’t thought too much of it but…

“Angel!” He was out of the booth in an instant, scooping the little girl--she couldn’t be more than three--into his arms.

Clark didn’t know what to say as he saw his boyfriend hold the girl. He was taking her hair out of the braids, muttering something about them being poorly done, and fidgeting with her clothes and the backpack she had on her. After a minute, he cleared his throat.

“Oh! Clark, this is my,” he noticeably swallowed, “daughter, Angela.”

He blinked at them. “Daughter?”

He looked away as she tried to introduce herself to Clark. “It’s complicated, but let’s just…” His head shot up as he looked around the cafe.

Clark noticed the accelerated heartbeat and realized that it was because he was _afraid_. “There’s no one else here anymore,” he said, reaching out to squeeze Jason’s hand. “You’re safe.”

Jason tried to smile at him before turning to his daughter. “Let’s get you some juice, alright? And a muffin?”

“Yay!”

* * *

“I didn’t tell anyone,” Jason told Clark in the kitchen later on that day while Angela slept in the other room. “To be honest, I didn’t believe that she was real when I got back. Everything there was either too vivid or so… dream like. Angela’s my biological daughter--I don’t know how, really, but they showed me the proof. They… told me she was there to keep me sane and… in line.” He leaned against the counter. “I have to tell Bruce and Dick that I have a daughter.”

“I can help you, if you want.”

It was almost as if he hadn’t heard him. “I--we’ll have to take a train back to the Manor. No, no, Gotham’s no place to raise a kid.” He shut his eyes to prevent the tears he felt coming on. “I’m a parent. Clark, I’m a dad again.”

He took him into his arms, trying to calm him down. “We can get through this, Jason, I swear. Tell me how I can help you.”

He let out a sob. “I don’t know. I need to tell Bruce… and she can’t live in Gotham. We need to go somewhere Wayne free.” He pulled away. “Maybe even superhero free.”

Clark didn’t know how to react to that. “Everyone just got you back, and you want to _leave_ again?”

“I don’t _want_ to go-”

“Then don’t.”

“-but it’s what’s best for Angela, I think.”

“Where would you even go?”

“I don’t know, maybe some small town in the middle of nowhere, far away from anyone that I know.”

“All of this for your daughter?”

“Of course. Wouldn’t you go to any lengths to keep your child safe? No, don’t answer that. They’d practically be a god compared to humans, just like you. You wouldn’t really need to keep them safe, not when they can do that on their own. I’m not Kryptonian and neither is Angela. I think.” He glanced at her. “I’m ninety five percent sure that she’s a relatively normal human.”

“Your family would protect her. The whole League would.” Clark wrapped his arms around him again. “Do you want to go back to Gotham tonight? Talk it out with Bruce?”

He shrugged, slumping against him. “That’s a rational idea.”

“I’m all about those,” he told him before he kissed the top of his head. “I love you, you get that, right?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

* * *

Bruce was sitting in his study, passing time by looking at various things for Wayne Enterprises. The door to the study opened a little bit, hinges creaking so lightly that you’d have to know the sound you were looking for. He glanced up and saw that it was a little girl standing there, and even from this distance he saw that she had the same sea green eyes as Jason.

He was about to ask her if there was anything that he could help her with when she ran on her little toddler legs over to him and hugged his leg as he stood up.

“Grandpa!”

_What?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter was a little bit longer than the other ones (I'm pretty sure at least). I hope you enjoyed it and feel free to leave a comment below!

**Author's Note:**

> So at first I was going to do this huge drawn out thing where Clark had to hide it from Bruce and that I was like: "Clark is an almost-boy-scout. He couldn't keep this from his best friend." Also: "If somebody explained everything to Jason before he got angry, he wouldn't get angry. And he misses his family."  
> Also this is my first time writing Clark I think so yeah sorry if he's OOC. I feel like if found Jason he'd just want the best for him and while he'd want to take him to Bruce he'd definitely respect Jason's wishes (because he was raised to be a gentleman). (Obviously this is what I thought because it's what I wrote.)


End file.
